August 2021 30 Day Rule/Focus & Discussion. All are welcome!

thank you Joe.

 

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Wednesday August 11, 2021
Razor: 1887 Star Lather Catcher
Blade: Gem SS (3)
Brush: Fluffy Industries Copper Edition
Soap: Vintage Williams
AS 1: Humphrey's Alcoholado Maravilla 70
AS 2: CHH Tobacco
Fragrance: Paco Rabanne 1,000,000
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1008
Beautiful shave today with the 1887 Star Lather Catcher find Jeff @jmudrick gave me the tip on. Was unsure how well it would work with the Modern Gem blade but got a great close shave. Should only improve when I get some wedges honed up. 3 Fluffy Industries shave gear items used today and VERY appreciative of Ken's thoughtful gifts that are revealed in the video. Have a Stupid Fun Day folks !!

 

Thanks Joe

 

Thank you Jeff

 

Fabulous shave and video Dave. That is one beautiful razor.

 

Thanks Joe, have a great day!

 

Lovely antique safety razor shave! I enjoyed your video. Good luck on the honing.

 

Thank you Joe...The Bath house Soap was a blind buy which turned out to be a excellent soap.
Info link: Luxury Mens Shaving | The Bath House (thebathhouseshop.co.uk)

 

SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 11, 2021

This morning I grabbed the “Edgar Allan Poe” (EAP) razor for my mug shave. This Ellis and Allan 8/8 stubtail full wedge dates to 1815 at the latest and is possibly older. It was imported by the Richmond, Virginia Mercantile Firm, Ellis & Allan as just an unfinished NOS blade by Edgar Allan Poe’s stepfather, Jonathan Allan, who had headed up the London branch of the firm. He returned to Richmond with the British inventory and young Edgar Allan Poe in tow in 1815. The firm dissolved in 1824, a victim of the Panic of 1819. Glen Mercurio masterfully clothed it in bone scales with an amber wedge and pinned it using period brass custom beehive washers.

Given its size and heft, Glen built a remarkable, mirror bright edge that shaves nicely, although its huge size makes wielding it effectively a challenge. I gather that contemporary hollow grinds of this width or greater, what I like to call shave hatchets, are probably easier to use, and quite popular thanks to the work of a group of very talented razorsmiths working out of Ukraine. I do have an 8/8 on reserve from one of them. But the EAP stubtail did do the job, albeit with a series of buffing touch ups after my usual third pass, leaving me acceptably smooth.

One of the problems with this great hobby of ours is that we can tend to accumulate an abundance of razors, leaving our tolerant and sometimes intolerant significant others shaking their heads and asking, “why do you have so many razors? You certainly don’t ‘need’ them!” We all know better than to address the ‘need’ issue. The, “it’s my hobby, and these help me better understand the history of shaving” is the argument that’s worked for me. Explaining about RAD and enablement wouldn’t fly. So I just wave, smile, and shave on!

The core of my safety razor collection consists primarily of vintage items. I reduced my Gem razors to a select few, with which I truly enjoy shaving my noggin. Today’s selection was my Gem Micromatic Open Comb (MMOC). After my mug shave, I loaded a Pella PTFE coated SS Gem blade, changed the Traveling Wilbury’s “Handle With Care” to their “End of the Line” and proceeded to have a glorious two pass ATG dome shave for the record books. I’d forgotten how incredibly efficient a shaver this little safety razor is. It left my dome cool, clean and porcelain smooth!

RAZOR: Ellis & Allan 8/8 Stubtail (Mug), Gem MMOC (Dome)
BLADE: Pella SS PTFE Gem
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: JT Sapele/Resin Handled Omega Pro48 Boar Knot
SOAP: Fine Snake Bite
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Fine Snake Bite AS Splash.

 

1903 New Star Safety/PTFE beard, Conrad Clix 500/Nacet (3) head, Vib'Raz for clean ups.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

Well, one thing is for certain, after today's shave-my next Rocky Mtn. Barber Co. purchase will be shave SOAP not cream. It's a bit tricky to deal with jarred cream. I don't think it requires much swirling with the brush. Nice shave overall, but this is a new experience for me. AAahhh, I did get a couple Knicks around Porcupine Alley North, but that isn't new. Fine job everywhere else, I was just struck by the thickness of the "cream". The Mennen Skin Bracer cooled me off well and killed off the Knicks. I also decided to save the rest of the cream for fall&winter use. I will "platoon"(think baseball)the Rocky Mtn. Barber co Barbershop with the Central Texas Soaps Grandpa's Barbershop. I'll be using the Simpson's in a few days, and will see how I feel about that for spring/summer. I paired a Stoylin Glacial A.S. with it, as you will see. That should balance things well. Anyway...VVery Excellent for this one.

 

Those @jmudrick hits just keep on coming! Enjoy your day!

 

Good shave, Paul!

 

Adjustable August

AoS Oud~~Simpson Persian Jar 2~~Barbasol FH/Wizamet SI~~Frederic Malle The Night
The only "adjusting" going on around these parts is which products to choose.
As you can see, I have adjusted since yesterday. The Art of Shaving Oud, besides creating
a fine lather, smells like pencil shavings. That's a smell most everyone has ingrained in their memory.
Photographs well:

This shave is dedicated to all Barbasol Floating Head fans, especially you, @jtspartan
The razor checks all the boxes.
1) Looks 2) Design 3) Balance 4) Grip 5) Blade Gap 6) Blade Exposure
With a refined technique, the Barbasol FH will shave as good as any razor available to humandom (sic).
Today, the baby was caught, but not without a few red spots on the lower neck ATG pass.
What a surprise.
Completed the shave with a straight-up Oud-Bomb:












There's some light controversy surrounding this fragrance. Many Oud experts and aficionados
claim the oud used in this perfume, because it has a strong "barnyard" aura, is "lower-grade".
IMO, it's a work of art...oud I say more?​

 

Thanks Jeff

Awesome shaves Jeff! I always enjoy reading the history about the interesting razors you use!! What is this RAD you speak of

 

absolutely fabulous shaves and pics gents..happy humpday..

 

Thanks Jeff.....my face and neck do feel clean and refreshed.

 

The Barbasol is a great safety razor, no argument from me, Maestro! Enjoy your day!

 

Hah!! Alas, poor Dave from Kentucky, I knew him well! Great stand-in for Yorick, but same reluctance to accept that you one (you?) may be the living embodiment of the syndrome!